The case in summary: Juliana Mattson, a student from the USA, was expelled from Norway while she was participating in a cultural exchange program on a small farm in the interior. The Directorate of Immigration (UDI) believed that Mattson had taken up work on the farm, which led to the deportation. Storting representative Alfred Bjørlo from Venstre reacts strongly to the case and asks questions to Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl. Bjørlo doubts that the legislation actually put a stop to the activity that WWOOF offers and believes that the incident may be the result of a misinterpretation of the legislation on the part of UDI. Rasmus Hansson, parliamentary representative for the Environment Party Dei Grøne, also criticizes the UDI’s practice in this matter. The case is now being processed by the Ministry of Justice. The summary has been prepared by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Last week, news wrote about 22-year-old Juliana Mattson from the USA, who was picked up by the police on a small farm in the interior and sent out of the country. The reason for the expulsion was that the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) believed that Mattson had taken up work on the farm. This even though Mattson was on the farm because she participated in a cultural exchange program run by the organization Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a worldwide movement that aims to build bridges between organic farmers and people who want to become organic farmers. The organization mediates cultural and knowledge exchange, and is a global community that works for organic farming all over the world. There is no opportunity to offer or accept salary for participants in WWOOF exchange. WWOOF was founded in 1971, and is one of the first educational and cultural exchange programs in the world. Today, WWOOF is in more than 132 countries around the world (and still growing). In Norway, there are currently 145 farms that offer accommodation via the WWOOF network. They usually take on 2-4 wwoofarers at a time. Most people come in the summer. In Norway, citizens from countries outside Schengen must have a work permit to be able to come via WWOOF. No other country in Europe practices the same. Source: WWOOF NORWAY Parliamentary representative Alfred Bjørlo from the Liberal Party reacts strongly to this. – This is hopeless. We cannot have it so that Norway throws out people who participate in a serious international exchange scheme to learn about agriculture, says Bjørlo to news. Alfred Bjørlo (V) hopes that the government will take action so that similar incidents do not recur. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Question for the Minister of Justice – Does the minister think that participation in this type of exchange program in Norway, as the only country in Europe, should be equated with labor immigration so that people risk being arrested and deported from Schengen? Bjørlo wrote this in a letter to Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) dated 9 September. The question from the parliamentary representative is now being processed by the Ministry of Justice. Alfred Bjørlo strongly doubts that the legislation actually put a stop to the activity WWOOF offers. – The first thing we want to ask the government is whether this comes from a block in the legislation, or whether this is about how the law is enforced by UDI. If this incident is the result of a misinterpretation of the legislation on the part of the UDI, I expect the government to take this up with the UDI, he says. Because the stay was not meant as work, neither from Mattson, nor from the hosts of the organic hobby farm in Eidskog. There on the farm, they have been receiving wwoofarers for over ten years. Åklangenga is an organic hobby farm that grows vegetables and keeps sheep for its own use. Around a dozen young people visit the farm every year to learn about organic farming. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Toni Poleo is an associate professor in ecology, agricultural studies and biotechnology at Høgskolen i Innlandet. On the farm, he and his wife demonstrate circular agriculture in practice to young people from all over the world. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Old Norse sheep originates from the Old Norse sheep which is the origin of today’s späelsauras. At Åklangenga, sheep are important for farm operations. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news André Lemee from Normandy is also at Åklangenga through WWOOF. But since he comes from the EU country France, he can stay on the farm as long as he wants. Julia Hurter grew up in the USA, but also has Norwegian citizenship. She spent two weeks at Åklangenga in May through WWOOF, and is now back on her own initiative. The plan was for Mattson to be on the farm for two weeks. – What I did was just to help out a bit with board and lodging, Mattson told news shortly after the draft in August. – It was part of practical training in sustainable agriculture. It wasn’t work, I was there to learn, she said then. Because according to WWOOF’s guidelines, there must not be any form of salary payment in connection with such stays. Nevertheless, the stay on the farm is therefore defined as an employment relationship by the UDI. In the decision on eviction, the UDI refers, among other things, to section 55 of the Immigration Act, which states that a foreigner who is going to work in Norway must have a residence permit that gives the right to take up work. If the legislation indicates that this practice is illegal, Bjørlo believes that changes should be made to the legislation. – It must be possible to find an increase in the border so that we make exceptions for this type of business, without allowing illegal labor immigration, says the parliamentary representative. What do you think of the eviction of Juliana Mattson? It is absolutely right, one must follow the law regardless. It’s a shame😥, but UDI must follow the legislation. This is just sad. UDI should have more important matters to focus on😡! I don’t think anything about this🤷. Show result – Unreasonable consequences Nor is the parliamentary representative for the Environmental Party Dei Grøne, Rasmus Hansson, particularly impressed by the way the UDI practices the legislation in this case. – Where the hell is public knowledge in UDI? This is stiff bureaucratic dust-up with completely unreasonable consequences, he wrote to news. Rasmus Hansson (MDG) believes that the draft is a result of outdated bureaucracy. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB Hansson is clear why he thinks this. – What Juliana Mattson was going to do in Norway is one hundred percent positive. After all, she is just a nice contributor to Norwegian agriculture who neither bothers the state nor the people of Norway. It is quite hopeless that the UDI then uses up public resources to chase her out of the country, believes the MDG politician. news has been in contact with the Ministry of Justice in order to be able to interview Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl about this case. The minister replies via the communications department saying that she cannot answer until she has answered Alfred Bjørlo’s question in the Storting. BACK IN THE USA: Juliana Mattson is now at home with her mother and her cat in Rhode Island in the USA. She is still disappointed by what happened in Norway. Mattson says that she will probably go out again with WWOOF another time. But not to Norway. Photo: news This is section 55 of the Immigration Act: A foreigner who intends to take up work for or without remuneration, or who wants to carry out gainful activities in the kingdom, must have a residence permit which gives the right to take up work or carry out gainful activities, unless otherwise stated in or in accordance with the law. A foreigner who intends to stay in the Kingdom for more than three months without taking up work must have a residence permit. A stay in another country participating in the Schengen cooperation is equated with a stay in the Kingdom. The King can issue further rules in regulations on the calculation of the length of stay. Source: Lovdata.no Published 12.09.2024, at 14.13
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Venstre and MDG react strongly to Juliana Mattson being thrown out. – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
